By Don Girard Director of marketing, Santa Monica College
Editor: Santa Monica Daily Press readers should know that Santa Monica College is as deeply committed to the safety and welfare of our community’s children as any institution or individual in Santa Monica.
The community should also know that we take seriously suggestions on how we may improve. For example, through preferential parking and the closure of certain parking-related facilities on Pearl Street, we have reduced student travel to the campus from streets on the south side of the campus to only 7 percent of the total, according to an audit recently certified by the Santa Monica City Council.
We have also received a commendation from the Santa Monica-Malibu School Council of PTAs for new traffic controls we have put in place to assist with elementary and middle school student drop-off.
We will study all suggestions on additional improvements by including them in an environmental assessment study and seek additional comments through a community outreach program before any of the projects funded by Measure U are begun.
Today, the college serves the largest number of Santa Monica and Malibu residents at any time in our history. Measure U will provide us the resources to balance the need of the community for a broad, professional, and success-oriented program with an equal sensitivity to neighborhood quality of life.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 2, 2002. Read the original PDF.